1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to assistive knot tying devices, and more particularly, the invention relates to hand-held, portable devices for tying fishing knots.
2. Related Art
Fishing is an activity that has been pursued by humans for at least 10,000 years, primarily for food, and oftentimes for recreation. A wide variety of practices fall under the general category of fishing, including angling, spear-fishing, blast fishing, and so forth. The most popular type of recreational fishing is angling, in which a hook (also referred to as “angle”) or other like tackle is attached to a rod by a line. The rod also typically includes a reel that stores, retrieves, and pays out the line. The hook is often dressed with bait to persuade the fish to bite down upon the same, resulting in the capture of the fish.
A typical fishing sequence would begin with the hooking of the bait. At this point, the end of the fishing line not attached to the reel has significant weight, including the weight of the bait, as well as any sinkers attached thereto. The hook, bait, and sinker are then “cast out” to the water. Depending on the desired pace, the angler may slowly reel in the bait so as to simulate a naturally swimming organism, or simply wait until a fish bites. When this occurs, the fish is “hooked” by a sudden and forceful pull on the line through the rod, fully driving the hook into the fish. Although specific techniques may vary, the fish is “reeled in” and the angler removes the hook. The aforementioned sequence is then re-initiated to catch another fish.
As will be appreciated by a practitioner having ordinary skill in the fishing arts, proper selection and use of knots to attach the hook to the line is essential to success because it is the weakest part of the hook-line-rod-reel assembly. A wide variety of knots are in use, such as the Snell knot, the Jansik knot, the Palomar knot, and the Trilene knot, among numerous others. The sheer number of possible knots is illustrative of the fact that each knot has its advantages and disadvantages, for if there was only one universal knot, then such knot would be used in all occasions.
The predominant consideration in knot selection is whether the knot will decrease the breaking strain of the line. Such a decrease in the breaking strain is undesirable because the hook may detach from the line after a sudden or severe jolt in the same, a frequent occurrence during fishing. When casting out, a significant centrifugal force is imparted upon the hook, bait, and sinker, tending to break the knot between the hook and the line. Further, when reeling in, the fish may resist, again stressing the knot between the hook and the line.
It has been found that the uni-knot provides a great amount of knot strength, and is therefore one of the most common knots used by anglers. A uni-knot maintains approximately ninety percent of its breaking strain. It is understood that the breaking strain of a line diminishes when there is a great deal of bending and twisting of the line, and when a uni-knot is tied, the main portion of the line is not bent at all, preventing the introduction of kinks therein and preserving its breaking strain. Another advantage of the uni-knot is that is can be used by both freshwater and saltwater anglers.
Referring to FIG. 1, a typical angling configuration includes a reel 10 attached to an elongate rod 12 having a distal end 12a and a proximal end 12b. The reel 10 is operative for spooling a line 14. In this regard, that section of the line 14 which attaches to the reel 10 is referred to herein as the main line 16, while the free end of the line 14 unattached to the reel 10 is referred to herein as the tag end 18.
With reference now to FIG. 2a-2f, the steps necessary to manually tie a uni-knot will be described. As shown in FIG. 2a, the line 14 is threaded through an eye 26 of a hook 24. Henceforth, the section of the line 14 between the eye 26 and the tag end 18 will be referred to as tag 20. In the cause of further differentiating the main line 16 from the tag 20, the section of the line 14 extending to the eye 26 from the reel 10 will be referred to as the main line 16. Still referring to FIG. 2a, the hook 24 is suspended on a first loop 28, with the tag 20 in an overlapping relationship with the main line 16. Next, with reference to FIG. 2b, the main line 16 is encircled with the tag 20 to form a second loop 30, with a first tag segment 32 of the tag 20 overlapping a second segment 34 of the same and the main line 16. Referring to FIG. 2c, the tag 20 forms a third loop 36 within the second loop 30, encircling the main line 16 and the second tag segment 34. Additional loops are formed as shown in FIG. 2d, including fourth loop 38, fifth loop 40, and sixth loop 42, each within the second loop 30. As was the case for third loop 36, main line 16 and the second tag segment 34 are encircled by each of the fourth loop 38, the fifth loop 40, and the sixth loop 42. Then, as shown in FIG. 2e, the knot 44 is partially closed by pulling tag 20. The knot 44 is slid down to the eye 26, and tightened by pulling the main line 16. The tag 20 is trimmed, resulting in a completed uni-knot as shown in FIG. 2f. 
Alas, given the above description of manually tying a uni-knot, it will be widely appreciated that tying a uni-knot is a challenging undertaking, particularly for those having reduced dexterity resulting from rheumatoid arthritis or other like diseases or for those having sustained significant hand injuries. In addition, an angler on a boat in the middle of the ocean or a lake may be subjected to cold, dark, and unsteady conditions while attempting to tie the knot. Furthermore, fishing line has a tendency to remain straight, thereby making any twists and turns more difficult to make. Quite simply, tying the uni-knot manually is seriously deficient in numerous respects. As tying fishing line to tackle is an essential aspect of fishing, an inability to do so precludes many yearning anglers from participating in the same.
Therefore, a device capable of tying a uni-knot for use in attaching a fishing hook to a fishing line would be desirable.